Do you have wedding cake? I.e. a heavy fruit cake which has been soaked in port/sherry/rum/whisky and then decorated with marzipan and royal icing?
Xmas cake is the same thing.
It's part of the English (i.e. British) tradition, and probably spread to the colonies and trading partners. Which would explain it being known in China.
We also have Xmas Pudding, which is a similar fruity better but it's steamed and served with the thickest cream you can find (which in my youth was clotted cream).
US Christmas is stereotypically endless cookies, with gingerbread and cinnamon rolls coming in strong. In general though I think the culinary traditions aren't really unified enough to be worth talking about.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christmas+cake&source=lnms...
I don't where that comes from, obviously it's in the shape of a firewood, I wonder if other countries follow the same tradition.
http://uwebus.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/small-wedding-c...
Anyone who has never taken a taste of one before, takes a taste, then throw the cake out, and never try eating one again.
If a cake has lasted the year without anyone taking a bite of it, you re-gift it.
In Shanghai it's actually run by the Taiwan operator which is definitely more like the Japanese style of 7-Eleven.
Hong Kong is run by Dairy Farm (owned by Jardine) and the 7-Elevens in Shenzhen and Guangzhou are organised very similarly (I can't find a source to say it is Jardine, but the style is the same)
7-Eleven as a whole has been majority owned by the Japanese operator since the 90s.
They're basically a very rich fruit cake with icing.
Honestly didn't know they weren't things in other counties. I think most common wealth countries they're a thing to.
Pudding however, now THAT is a weird Christmas tradition :)
"Christmas cakes of this style were originally released by Fujiya, and was popularized when they began sales at Ginza, the central commercial district in Tokyo. This was during the time when Japan was going through massive waves of Westernization, particularly by the upper elite class. Members of the upper class, who had a strong penchant for Western cultures in general, enjoyed Western style desserts as a delicacy. Thus, being a Western style dessert, Christmas cakes were associated with the idea of Western modernity and social status. Therefore, it was a major hit when the Christmas cakes were commercialized and became more affordable to the general public. As Christmas in Japan developed as a full-fledged commercial event, competition among confectionery stores got intense. Different shapes and styles of Christmas cakes are released across the countless numbers of confectionery stores in the country; the cakes are no longer tied down to the traditional form of round white cakes with strawberries and Santa Claus on top. The Christmas cakes today are symbolized as a ritual of Christmas celebration; specifically, the act of sharing the cake with family or friends."
An excellent explanation of what's going on! I knew about fruitcake for Christmas, but these are totally different.
US pudding is called custard in the UK.
Now you'll be amazed what they think pants are.
Hang on...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christmas+cake&source=lnms...
You'd have been better off saying that Christmas doesn't really involve Santa Claus:
Did you really need to make the Chinese are depressing not efficient racial slur?
Seems so, yes. "christmas cake" is common in India too. For example,
"For sweet, the Anglo Indian household enjoys Christmas cake and plum pudding, perfumed with brandy, nutmeg and other spices." http://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/the-indian-christmas-table-...
[...]
> they may transform your traditions into something unrecognizable
This "Christmas" thing really took off. You must be proud.